Lampkin gives Albany ‘O’ another dimension
Running back has productive start to the season with Empire
After a slow start, Albany Empire running back Tiberias Lampkin became one of the top rushers in the National Arena League in a single game.
In last Saturday’s 61-60 overtime win at the Jacksonville Sharks, Lampkin rushed nine times for 41 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s now tied with Carolina Cobras fullback Zack Brown at the top of the standings in attempts (11) and yards (42).
“I’m just as shocked as y’all are to be running the ball in the arena and to be tied for the leading rusher,” Lampkin said.
Brown’s stats are evenly spread across two games — six attempts for 20 yards in a season-opening win over the Empire, and five attempts for 22 yards and a touchdown against the Orlando Predators last week.
Lampkin, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 220 pounds, had two attempts for one yard against Car
olina.
He’s also the only running back with more than one touchdown. Columbus Lions quarterback Darren Daniel leads the NAL with six.
Lampkin will have the chance to add to his stats when the Empire travel to the Orlando Predators for a 7 p.m. game Saturday night.
One fumble kept him from perfection in Game 2.
“That may have been the best thing that ever happened to him, because he came up to me on the sidelines and said, ‘That’ll never happen again,’ ” said Empire coach Tom Menas. “I said, ‘I don’t think it will.’ He was so determined after that.”
At first, Lampkin wasn’t sure if arena football, which emphasizes passing, would be a good fit for his skills. Empire offensive coordinator Damon Ware persuaded Lampkin that they’d use him.
“He was like, ‘You know what, we’re going to have the best offense, we’re going to have the best passing and we’re going to have the best rushing,’ ” Lampkin recalled. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know how you’re going to do that when all y’all do is throw the ball.’ He’s like, ‘We’re going to do something different.’ ”
It was always the Empire’s intention to have a robust run game, Menas said. They just needed the right person to make it work.
“We had our order and we were just waiting to see if we could find him, and we did,” he said. “(Lampkin) reminds me a lot of a Ricky Williams type of runner. He’s low to the ground, he’s thick-legged, he’s strong.”
Arena league running backs tend to be bigger than Lampkin — Brown, the Carolina fullback, is 6-1, 255 pounds — so he worked on his strength in the offseason to be a better blocker.
In other respects, Lampkin has found his size to be an advantage.
“Everybody’s blocking guys who are 290 and trying to run after them, and now you’re running after a guy who’s 220 and fast,” Lampkin said.
Lampkin knew Ware from his time with the Omaha Beef of the Champions Indoor Football league. After graduating from Mississippi College, Lampkin played one preseason game with the Beef before COVID -19 shut down the season.
Last year, he signed with Columbus but left after two games when his wife gave birth.
Menas described Lampkin, a career firefighter, as “a super, super high character guy. … He carries it over from the bus, to the field, to the dining hall, to everywhere.”
Though he hasn’t played defense since high school, Lampkin’s been making an impact on the other side of the ball too. He recorded a sack Saturday.
“Whatever I need to do to be successful, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “I don’t care if they tell me to kick. I might not know how to kick, but I’m going to give it my all.”
Notes: Wide receiver Darius Prince was named Ironman of the Week after catching seven passes for 82 yards and three touchdowns on offense and getting an interception on defense at Jacksonville . ... Albany released wide receiver Koree Reed and lineman Fred Ruff and signed lineman Gregory Brooks.